


The Rejected Son

by HongyueG



Series: International Bending Academy [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Iroh is a good uncle, Modern AU, Private Bending High School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:55:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27660980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HongyueG/pseuds/HongyueG
Summary: Zuko finally attends one of his private bending academy's dances and realizes something important.
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Jin & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: International Bending Academy [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2022596
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	The Rejected Son

The only reason Zuko was at the Spring Festival Dance was because of his uncle. He had skipped every single one of the thousand other school events that had been tossed at him. The Golden Dragon Dance. The Moon Spirit Dance. All those assemblies on bullying and mental health. It was humiliating enough being the rejected son of the Fire Lord. Zuko didn’t need his peers gawking at him as well.

The one good thing Zuko could say about the Spring Festival Dance was that it was outside. His fellow high schoolers were too busy gazing at the red, purple, and blue fireworks twinkling in the night sky above them to give him any attention. He could blend in with the other Freshmen of the International Bending Academy for once.

“Hey, Zuko.”

Or not.

He twisted to his right to see the pretty Earthbender Jin from his class striding over to him with a cup of tea in her hands. In the distance, he could see his uncle’s stand lit up by ruby lanterns and he could almost smell the sweet and bitter aroma of the leaves Iroh used in his drinks. As Jin approached, Zuko’s cheeks felt hot and he fought the urge to step back toward the school buildings behind him.  _ It’s just Jin. _

He gave the girl a curt nod. A slight breeze drifted over his skin and he felt glad for the moment of relief. It could get quite warm in the Fire Nation. 

“Zuko,” Jin said. Thanks to the line of lampposts tracing the dance area, Zuko could make out a smile on her tan cheeks. “You should come join in the dancing. It’s fun.”

He glanced at the large crowd of people swaying in front of him. He shook his head. “I don’t think anybody would want to see me dancing.”

Jin peered at him with sad eyes. He hated that she seemed to pity him. He suddenly felt self-conscious of the scar that striked the left side of his face and he turned his head away from the girl.

A boom shattered the silence as a red firework burst in the air, painting the people and grass below a pinkish hue. Beyond the crowds, the sparkling lights, the lanterns, Zuko could see the ocean murmuring in the background. The salty air stung his nose and he imagined that he could see the edge of the Earth Kingdom teetering before him. It had never made sense to him that the private bending high school he attended was in the Fire Nation. It made more sense for the international academy to be in the United Republic.  _ It’s just another way my country is trying to regain the power it’s lost in the decades since the Hundred Year War.  _

“Your uncle’s tea is very good,” Jin said. Her light voice could barely be heard through the quaking of the fireworks.

Annoyance crept into Zuko’s mind. He didn’t understand why this girl wasn’t leaving and he definitely did not want to discuss his uncle with her. 

“He’s a great guidance counselor, too,” Jin continued. “He helped me feel less homesick this year.”

The word “home” felt like a dagger twisting in Zuko’s gut. He was sure Jin had a lovely home in the Earth Kingdom that possessed a family who missed her, but wanted her to have the opportunity to attend the most prestigious bending academy in the six nations. She probably didn’t belong to a family that made money raging useless border skirmishes with other countries or trying to return to a time that was long gone. Jin didn’t have to worry about other people staring at her because her trauma had been made public.

A purple firework thrummed in the sky and rocked Zuko out of his thoughts. He focused on his fellow students’ laughter as they jumped around before him. He saw friends hugging one another with grins splashed on their cheeks. He cringed at the couples kissing along the fringes of the crowd. He smirked as teenagers’ stepped on one another’s toes and as his classmates snorted with exhilaration. The scene appeared beautiful in an amusing, chaotic way. Everyone was simply trying to dance and belong.

“You should go, Jin,” Zuko said. He made sure his voice was loud enough to be heard over the crackling of the fireworks. “Your friends are probably wondering where you are.”

Jim smiled at him and took a sip from her teacup. The sleeves of her mint green dress fell down to her elbows. “You know, Zuko. You can dance, too. I’m sure my friends wouldn’t mind.”

Zuko felt himself blushing again and he fought the urge to fiddle with the ends of the red dress shirt he wore. Why was Jin being so nice to him? She, like everyone else in this school, this whole world rather, knew that he was rejected, knew that his father had scarred him. Zuko was only here because his uncle had been the one person willing to care for a disgraced prince. He only came to this dance because that same uncle had requested him to be there. 

His country was a mess disguised as perfection and everything about this school felt wrong. Still, as Jin beamed at him with his uncle’s tea in her hands, Zuko felt something. Something he hadn’t felt since he was eleven years old. He felt that he mattered. That somebody cared for him. 

He shook his head at Jin. “Thank you, but I… I have to go. I have something to do.”

Jin nodded at him, her face slightly downcast. “Well, I’ll see you in class.” She gave a little bow to him before scurrying off in the direction of the crowd. 

Zuko watched as the kind girl dashed away. Once she had disappeared into the masses, he turned around and headed toward the lone teastand at the edge of the grassy area. Another sea breeze tangled around his legs and the brimy air soothed him. A blue firework dazzled the night sky. After what felt like hours, Zuko arrived in front of his uncle’s stand.

His uncle looked up at him, his amber eyes welled with concern. A boiling kettle of tea wheezed on the platform between them.

“Hey, Uncle,” Zuko said. “Do you want help serving tea?”

Iroh grinned.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I would appreciate hearing your thoughts about the story below. I always loved Zuko and Iroh's relationship in the TV show and I am glad I finally wrote a fic about it. In case you are curious, this isn't the first fic I have written that takes place in this specific AU. I wrote another about Kyoshi and Rangi that you can find here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26923303. Finally, I am currently writing a longer fic that is also set in this world. Anyway, thank you again for reading and I hope you enjoyed the story!


End file.
